Report: Detroit's 36th District Court in crisis, over budget, hurting public

May 24, 2013

A review of Detroit's 36th District Court projects the court to be $4.5 million over budget by the end of this fiscal year June 30. Chief Judge Kenneth King says changes are already in progress. / Romain Blanquart/Detroit Free Press

Written by

Elisha Anderson and Gina Damron

Detroit Free Press Staff Writers

A stinging review of Detroit’s 36th District Court describes a judicial system in crisis — with a projected budget overrun in the millions and unacceptable delays in cases — and concludes the court may need new leadership to pull it out of the financial mess.

The review, obtained Thursday by the Free Press, was conducted earlier this month by the National Center for State Courts at the request of Michigan’s State Court Administrative Office when it became aware of the court’s projected budget overrun and other issues, a spokeswoman for the office said.

The report shows problems at the court that directly impact the public: long lines to pay fines and fees and get court assignments; case backlogs; and “rampant” no-shows by police officers and defendants in criminal cases, as well as parties in civil matters.

The review recommends a “strong change agent” to lead the court through “extraordinary challenges.” If the State Court Administrative Office determines the current court leadership can’t effectively do that, the state Supreme Court could appoint a new management team.

According to the report, the city-financed court is projected to exceed its $31-million budget by $4.5 million by the end of the fiscal year June 30. The review says the court continued to operate as if its budget were millions higher.

“The reluctance to embrace the crisis situation in which the court finds itself is disturbing,” the review says. “It evidences a complacent attitude among court leaders; an unwillingness to act boldly to address and share their portion of the financial predicament of the funding unit.”

36th District Chief Judge Kenneth King called the review “garbage” and said it appears to be an attempt at a state takeover. He said the court intends to meet its budget next fiscal year, and the majority of its money is used for salaries and benefits for the court’s 384 employees.

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“They are dead wrong when they say we have no appreciation for the financial shape the city is in,” King said.

He added: “We have every intention on working within the budget we’re given. I don’t need anybody coming in from the outside to tell me how to do it.”

The court — which handled more than 1.1-million cases in 2012 and juggles 65,000 phone calls and 160,000 people conducting business monthly — is the busiest in the state and its website says one of the busiest in the country.

King, who has been chief judge since January 2012, said court officials already were in the process of making changes before the review. Among them: a grant writer was hired to pursue money for technology upgrades, new measures were implemented to collect some of an estimated $248 million owed to the court in fees and other costs, and people are being assigned courtrooms in advance to eliminate lines for those trying to find out where to go.

He questioned if the report had a hidden agenda.

“All they’re doing is trying to set the stage for someone else to come in here and dictate to us what to do,” he said.

Among other findings of the review, the court:

■ Needs to make better use of technologies, which would streamline operations, including digitizing records. The court now relies on paper files.

■ Appears to be overstaffed.

■ “Must re-engineer old work procedures and embrace a culture of innovation and change.”

■ Has experienced “unacceptable delays” in pending cases.

Pointing to the problem with backlogged cases, the report says many are “under the radar” because they haven’t been appropriately assigned to a judge. It also notes issues with information being entered into the electronic management system.

“As a result, there is a potential trend for a ‘hidden,’ but very large backlog that must be addressed,” the review says.

The report concludes a traditional manager likely won’t be able to resolve the budgetary, organizational and operational challenges.

“While not impossible, it is extremely difficult to envision from the consultants’ perspectives a member for the current court being able to assume such a leadership position,” it states. “This conclusion is based upon the failure of the current leadership to adequately respond to the financial crisis facing the court. More importantly, it is based upon the lack of a vision or understanding as to how a high functioning court should operate.”

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The State Court Administrative Office is studying the report, which is dated Monday, and plans to work with the court to quickly adopt a court improvement plan, said Marcia McBrien, a spokeswoman for the office, which is the administrative agency for the Michigan Supreme Court.

She said a series of issues prompted the report, including the projected budget overruns.

“As the report makes clear, the court’s problems are of long standing,” McBrien said.

It’s unclear whether the State Court Administrative Office will decide the court’s management team needs to be replaced. If it comes to that, the appointment would be made by the state Supreme Court, McBrien said.

The report has been given to several judges, as well as Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr, who now is ultimately responsible for approving the court’s budget. Bill Nowling, spokesman for Orr, said he is reviewing the report, “but we’ll withhold comment until he has an opportunity to read through it.”

A spokesperson for the Detroit Police Department did not return a call seeking comment.

King said the consultants who issued the report were in the court for just two days, and he wasn’t asked about his plans or the improvements already under way. He agreed the court needs to be restructured and said many of the things he’s working to change were decades in the making.